In November of 2023, Eastern Michigan University’s LGBT Resource Center hosted an event in collaboration with the University Archives’ Oral History Program during Transgender Awareness Week where students could share their experiences with being part of the LGBT community on and off campus. Here an EMU student talks about the conflict between the church and LGBTQ issues, finding community as a Black lesbian, and queer prom in Detroit.

Anonymous, Interview, 2023

In the Fall of 2022, the Eastern Michigan University Archives invited emerita Betty Brown-Chappell and alum Anarosa Mendoza King to sit down for an interview together. With lecturer Matt Jones mediating the conversation, the women talked about their careers in social work and what it means to them, their humble beginnings and journeys to EMU, and the importance of good mentors. Brown-Chappell and King reminisce on memories of conferences, Halloween parties, and family gatherings.

Betty Brown-Chappell and Anarosa Mendoza King, Oral History Interview, 2022

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, long-time Ann Arbor resident Mark Margolis talks about running a small business, the vibrant community he's found, and the city's changing landscape.

Mark Margolis, Interview, 2024

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, Charlie Reischl talks about growing up in the city, working for non-profits, and the importance of Ann Arbor's art and music scene.

Charlie Reischl, Interview, 2024

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, Corey Mills talks about growing up in Ann Arbor, working for the AAPD, and how the city has changed but also stayed the same.

Corey Mills, Interview, 2024

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, Scott King and Andre Andersen talk about moving to and living in Ann Arbor, the things they look forward to outside of UMich Football, and what they believe the AAPD's role to be in the city.

Andre Andersen and Scott King, Interview, 2024

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, mother Merrily Hart and daughters Rachel Klayman and Julie Roberts each talk about growing up in Ann Arbor close to family, attending the University of Michigan, and finding their ways back to each other after leaving.

Merrily Hart, Rachel Klayman, and Julie Roberts, Interview, 2024

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, Paul Conway shares the story of how he made his way to Ann Arbor, attending and then working at the University of Michigan, and the challenges of a growing college and a growing city.

Paul Conway, Interview, 2024

Throughout 2024, the city of Ann Arbor celebrated its 200th anniversary with community events, festivals, and art displays that highlighted its rich culture and history. To cap off the celebrations, in December 2024 the EMU Center for Oral History Research invited community members to Skyline High School to share what makes Ann Arbor special. In this interview, Odile Hugnot-Haber talks about her journey to Ann Arbor, the importance of community activism and engagement, and how the city can start to make a change in the world.

Odile Hugnot-Haber, Interview, 2024

Thomas Dusbiber attended the Roosevelt School from Kindergarten in 1954 until he graduated in 1966. In this interview, Tom recounts his time at Roosevelt, talking about the quality of the teachers, the struggles of high school athletics, and where the popular hangout spots were when he was in school. He also explores the legacy of the school, and the reasons why so many former students remember it so fondly. 

Tom Dusbiber, Oral History Interview, 2023

Suzanne “Suzy” Wood attended the Roosevelt School K-12, she graduated a year before the school’s closure in 1969. In this interview, Suzy recounts growing up in the Normal Park neighborhood and activities kids did while living there in the 1950s-60s, and her experiences attending Roosevelt as a studious honors student who stayed out of trouble. Suzy also discusses meeting her husband, Nelson, while at Roosevelt, what dates looked like in the 1960s, and her life beyond Roosevelt. 

Suzy Wood, Oral History Interview, 2023

Barry LaRue is a lifelong Ypsilanti resident, EMU alum, founder of the Riverside Arts Center, and former Operations Manager for University of Michigan theatres. Barry attended Roosevelt from Kindergarten through seventh grade, and, in this interview, he explores his experiences at Roosevelt going into detail about his involvement with theatre productions, the lab schools unique “progressive” curriculum, and the teachers and friends who left a lasting impression on him. Additionally, LaRue recounts his feelings of Roosevelt’s closure, his involvement in Ypsilanti city politics and preservation, and the ways that EMU’s campus has evolved since he was a student.

Barry LaRue, Oral History Interview, 2023

George Goodman is a Michigan native, military veteran, and was the first African American to be elected as Mayor of Ypsilanti, a position he held from 1972-82. Goodman attended Roosevelt from K-12, graduating in 1958. In this interview, George shares  his experiences growing up in a predominantly Black neighborhood, how Ypsilanti has evolved over time, and his experiences at school and in the larger community as a person of color. He also explores his time after Roosevelt, briefly touching on his time as Mayor of Ypsilanti and how Roosevelt left a lasting impact on him. 

George Goodman, Oral History Interview, 2023

Gretchen [Geiser] Colbert is a 1968 alumna of the Roosevelt School and grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In this interview Colbert discusses her experiences at Roosevelt, highlighting how she developed a passion for music and joined the girl's synchronized swim team as it was the only sport available to women at the time. She explains how she took her passion for music with her through life, and how voice lessons at Roosevelt have led to a lifelong involvement in choir groups. 

Gretchen [Geiser] Colbert

Edwin "Ed" Pear is an attorney with a long distinguished career in real estate, business, and estate planning. Pear attended the Roosevelt school from K-12, and was apart of the graduating class of 1959. In this interview, Ed recounts memories of growing up in a Jewish family in Ypsilanti, his fathers clothing store, and other local businesses that existed at the time. He also reminisces about his time as a student at Roosevelt, sharing his experiences in athletics, extracurriculars, and lamenting about the sadness of the schools closure. 

Edwin Pear, Oral History Interview, 2023

Mary and Terry Clark are a married couple who began dating as elementary school students while attending the Roosevelt school. In this interview the couple speaks fondly of their time at Roosevelt, and each explain the extracurriculars they were involved in and the teachers that had an impact on their lives. They also discuss how they met, holding hands while walking to school, where the popular hang out spots were, and what the school meant to them. 

Mary & Terry Clark, Oral History Interview, 2023

Jim MacDonald was a Roosevelt school attendee from 1957 until his junior year 1969, when the school closed, and his dad, Alistair MacDonald, better known as “Mr. Mac was the principal of Roosevelt while he attended. MacDonald is also the proprietor of Jim MacDonald’s Antiques, which shares a shop with Apple Annie's Vintage in Ypsilanti's Historic Depot Town. In this interview MacDonald discusses his experience growing up in Ypsilanti in the 1950s and 60s near Oakwood and Sheridan, playing with his friends in Sleepy Hollow, and the impact his dad had on kids he went to Roosevelt with. MacDonald also talks in detail about his friendship with Wayne Blikken, explaining their cross country trip playing basketball at various colleges.

Jim MacDonald, Oral History Interview, 2023

Kirk Profit is a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and currently works as a lawyer and legal consultant in his hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan. In this interview, Profit speaks about his time as a student at the Roosevelt school, which he attended from kindergarten until 6th grade, leaving early as a result of Roosevelts impending closure. He explains how the education at Roosevelt was creative and innovative, why swimming was so popular among Roosevelt students, and discusses what elementary and middle school students did for fun in the 1960s. He also discusses his life after Roosevelt, exploring his early involvement with politics, developing a social consciousness, and the current state of education in Ypsilanti. 

Kirk Profit, Oral History Interview, 2023

Bob Garfield  is a lifelong resident of Ypsilanti who attended the Roosevelt school in 7th grade. In this interview, Garfield discusses the year he spent at Roosevelt, noting that the lack of structure is what led him to transfer back to public school. He also talks about Ypsilanti's history, exploring how the landscape has changed, popular hangout spots for kids, and businesses that no longer exist. Garfield also speaks candidly about his experiences with substance use, working at the first Domino's pizza, and gushes with pride talking about his musically gifted adult son, J.T.

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